The devil and his angels have been present in the earth ever since that time. Evidence of their presence and activity may be found throughout the entire history of the Bible, particularly during the time when Christ was on earth, were we find numerous accounts of Christ casting out demons out of people. Their activity has not only continued to our day but has intensified. "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." Rev. 12:12.

Which Spirit Possesses You?

There are four levels of demonic activity:

1. Temptation, Gen. 3:4,5; It can be from without or within. The devil can bring thoughts back into us from the past designed to make us think of sin, and so it is important to avoid temptation for it says, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Matth. 6:13; Luke 11:4; we do that by (a) praying, (b) claiming a promise or promises we find in the Bible.
   
2. Harrassment - which is the manipulation of your circumstances by means of violence or vengeance, "And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." Acts 19:16. In times like this the devil can make us fearful but remember, he is a defeated foe (1.John 3:8; Rev. 12:12) and that God's angels are promised to camp around us, when we call on God, "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." Ps. 91:11; Mt. 4:6.
   
3. Control - when Satan tries to control you in a moment of weakness like he did to Peter, "But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." Matth. 16:23.
   
4. Possession - The difference between control and possession is that we can escape from it, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1.Thess. 5:23. Let us also remember, "The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth." Psalm 11:5, and "How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?" Ps. 13:2. Let us remember that the devil is able to possess a person who deliberately ignores or becomes indifferent or casual about following the word of God, not giving up cherished sins, bad temper, gossipy tongues, indulgence of appetite, carelessness regarding the edges of the Sabbath, through such doors the devil can enter in. All who willfully depart from keeping God's commandments are placing themselves under the control of Satan, for many temper with evil, thinking that they can break away at pleasure; but they find themselves lured on and on, until they discover themselves controlled by a will that is stronger than their own. Such cannot escape its mysterious power. Secret sin or master passion may hold him a captive as helpless as were the demoniacs of Gergesa, Mt. 8:28ff. Also remember that our soul has to do with our emotions for everything that we do in body has a soul attachment to it and in our (1) spirit we can keep close to God by diligent prayer to bind and loosen the fetters of the devil, for the fruit of the spirit is Christian love, 1.Tim. 6:11, that rules out any violence or evil deeds on another person, only terrible persecutors do such things and they will have to answer for it to the authorities; (2) but if we pray only usual prayers without spending time reflecting on the Cross, on account of which we are saved, our prayer is incomplete (Rom. 1:16,17; Gal. 6:14; 1.John 2:15,16); the (3) soul has to do with our emotions, attitude, disposition, dress, etc.; and the (4) body with our cravings and urgencies, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." 3.John 1:2.

The devil did not invent spirit possession. Jesus offers us oneness with Him. This is the kind of possession God has planned for fulfillment and happiness in our lives. Satan always counterfeits every good things, and in this case, he uses the very mechanisms to take control of man that God has provided for us to have complete possession by Him.

What is involved is the influence of some supernatural being in the lives of people. In order for this to take place, some form of communication must occur in the form of the transfer of thoughts and feelings. Consider the following statement: "The brain nerves that connect with the whole system are the medium through which heaven communicates with man and affects the inmost life." {Ed. 209} God created in us a mechanism whereby the Holy Spirit can communicate directly with each of us. This is a Biblical concept: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16.

Spirit Possession and the Mind

However, if one submits to the suggestions of an evil spirit, possession by that evil spirit will take place. It is reasonable to think that the mechanism, designed by God for communication with the Holy Spirit, may be taken over by evil spirits. William Sargent, a British psychiatrist, studied extensively the work of witch doctors, voodoo priests, and faith healers. he compared their methods with hypnotic trances and rock music festivals. Specifically, attention is diverted and fatigue sets in. Eager anticipation and high expectation of ecstasy also plays a role. Individual will power is weakened. [William Sargent, `The Mind Possessed: a Physiology of Possession, Mysticism and Faith Healing', Harper & Row, NY, 1974.]

T.E. Wade examines transcendental meditation, hypnosis, glossolalia, and spiritism in connection with possession. He concludes: "It is my personal conviction that the normal human brain is capable of experiencing the functional relation to the Holy Spirit by a mechanism which is misused to achieve hypnotic trance. . . . This mechanism may be surrendered to the control of an evil spirit as occurs in voodoo spirit possession, or a human hypnotist may intrude into the relationship when he casts a spell over his subject." [T.E. Wade, `Spirit Possession,' Gazelle Publications, Auburn, CA 1991, p. 47.]

Ellen White strongly opposed the use of hypnotism: "The theory of mind controlling mind was originated by Satan. . . . It opens a door through which Satan will enter to take possession both of the mind that is given up to be controlled. . . . and of the mind that controls." {MH, 243}

Spirit Possession and Music

Having established that spirit possession does take place, the possibility of the role of music in possession may be examined. Satan has always been highly involved with music, beginning in heaven. "Satan had led the heavenly choir." {SR, 25} This suggests that Satan is the most intelligent being regarding music in our world. He knows how to make the best use of it to achieve his ends. He does things with music that seem strange and even impossible.

The search for the use of music in devil possession resulted in finding two main avenues. (1) One is the use of beats in music to call the spirits or gods. (2) The other is the altered state of consciousness.

Music Beats

Much has been said and written by many people about the harmfulness of the beats in rock music. One of the most important reasons it is harmful is because it calls the demons. This use of music goes way back in African history. It is also found in Indian history. The author has, in her possession, tapes of songs to the oldest known, original gods of India. These come from Tamil in the southern part of India and go back to the early time of Indian history. From these countries, and particularly from Africa, the music and religion spread in the world because of the dispersion of people in slavery. Even though slaves, people preserved their loyalty to their religion through whatever means they could. There are three main religions which are still extant which grew out of this dispersion. In Haiti it is called Voodoo. In Cuba, it is called Santeria, and in Brazil, it is called Candomble. In each of these religions, as in African and Indian religions, specific rhythms are used to call specific gods. This is the purpose of the rituals performed. Drums are played, there is dancing. A certain rhythm is played, depending on which god is desired, and that god comes and possesses individuals. The same exact rhythms are used in each of the three religions named above, in African and Indian music, in rock music and in music used in meetings of faith healers. It seems as though the god is willing to come whenever called by anyone. Does the god come to celebration churches when the god's rhythm is played in Christian rock music, even though the people present do not realize that they are calling a god? There is quite a strong consensus that the god does come.

The story is told of a family where the husband liked very much to listen to Christian music radio stations (country gospel and contemporary Christian). His wife, however, did not appreciate this music, so she banned her husband with the music to a bedroom with a closed door. As time went on, strange things occurred in the house. There were odd noises, and things moved unexpectedly. When she learned that the beat in rock music calls the demons, she said, "That is the answer, My husband's music is calling the spirits into our house."

So they determined to stop the music, and immediately the strange occurrences also stopped. They did not know that they were calling gods into their house.

Ritual Songs

Music is a necessary part of the rituals, a primary purpose of which is to accomplish a state of possession by one or more of the gods.

The role of the drums is to call the gods and thus bring on spirit possession, which is the ultimate purpose of most rituals. Drums are usually played in a battery of three. The largest drum is played by the master drummer and is the most important, because it is specific in spirit possession. Specific rhythms correspond to specific gods.

It is the rhythm identified with each god that is a primary instrument in summoning him and no worship of the gods is possible without the rhythms that call and speak for the gods. [Harold Courtlander, `A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore', Crown Publishers, Inc. NY, 1976]

The drums have the primary religious function of calling the gods, and thus of bringing on spirit possession. [G. Behague, `Patterns of Candomble Music Performance: An Afro-Brazilian Religious Setting', "Performance Practice Ethno-musicological Perspectives", Greenwood Press, CT, 1984, 231.]

In all of these religions we find a spirit possession, which is echoed, primarily through the beat of the music, in rock music, in faith healing, and in churches of all persuasions through Christian rock music, contemporary Christian music, and country gospel music. The devil has done a good job of infiltrating our culture, including our Christian culture, with spirit possession, which may be very real, even though people do not realize that it is happening to them.

Altered State of Consciousness

The other main stream technique, in which the devil uses music to bring about spirit possession, is that of the altered state of consciousness. "Thoughts naturally flit across the mind, and considering an idea generally brings up related thoughts. - Occultists teach that, by visualization and concentration, this natural flow of thoughts can be interrupted. As this occurs, subjects slip into an altered state of consciousness which we have identified as the corridor of the mind." [Wade, op. cit., 74,75.] This is called by various names such as illumination, enlightenment, trance, tuning in, and hypnotism . Wade further states, "Any type of concentration on sensual stimulation may alter consciousness. Music with a strong rhythm, or concentration on the relaxation of different parts of the body, can induce it. The apparently innocent concentration on a mental image of Jesus standing in your favorite spot can bring the same effect." [Ibid.]

Before proceeding, it is important to understand the ways in which music facilitates an altered state of consciousness. One important element of the process is called entertainment. In 1665, the Dutch scientist Huygens noticed that if two clocks were place next to each other, they would soon begin ticking synchronously and so was discovered the Law of Entertainment. Rhythms in close proximity will entrain. Because of entertainment, music is often used beneficially to control heart rate and other rhythms in the body. Since this is true, it is also possible to use the rhythm of sound to control the rhythm of brain waves. Neuro-chemical cortical brain activity may be measured. A set of descriptions has been developed and identified as Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta.

Beta is predominantly present when the individual is attending to a task, particularly such a task as mathematics. This is also the state of the brain during critical thinking. When Alpha is predominant, the individual is in a relaxed state. There are some claims that hypnotism takes place in higher levels of Alpha. One description is alert relaxation. The Theta condition is extremely relaxed. Meditation conditions could take place here. Lower levels might include approaching sleep. Delta is the sleep condition. It is an extremely low level of brain activity.

Neurons are constantly firing at various rates all over the brain, but one of these levels may be predominant at any given time under given circumstances. Brain waves are vibrations measured in Hertz (Hz), or in cycles per second.

Vibrations

Music is also vibrations, which is measured in cycles per second or Hertz, which determines frequency or pitch.

Another element, which the devil employs in his arsenal, is that of `difference tones'. This is a phenomena commonly explained in psychology of music texts whereby a phantom tone is heard. Under certain conditions, when two tones are sounded simultaneously, a tone equal to the difference in Hz, between the two tones may be heard even though it is not being played. If tones of 100 Hz and 106 Hz were sounded, a phantom tone of 6 Hz might be heard. Or if a C and G above it were played simultaneously, the C an octave lower might be heard.

To combine these three (entertainment, difference tones and brain waves), consider the following:

Notes producing difference tones of very low or small frequency could be played and embedded just below the audible sound of the music. When the listener hears the music, the embedded difference tones (although inaudible to him) will entrain with the listener's brain waves, thus controlling them or causing them to match the difference tones. Without realizing what is happening to him, the listener's brain waves may be led to an Alpha, Theta, or Delta state according to the whim of the controller. Some believe that the devil has been using techniques such as these since the beginning of the world and is still using them.

Music and Babylon

In ancient Babylon, there is the example of instruments used to signal the people to worship the golden image, Daniel 3:4. It seems reasonable to think that the instruments served more of a purpose than just as a signal when to bow down before the image. Mrs. White wrote, "The appointed day came, and at the sound of entrancing music the vast company "fell down and worshiped the golden image." {CT, 177} Speaking further along this line, she wrote, "Force is the last resort of every false religion. At first it tries attraction, as the king of Babylon tried the power of music and outward show." {7BC, 976}

"The ancients knew how to use music to elicit a mystical experience. . . ."

Everything remains on the level of the emotions and the nervous system. Even today, thanks to the media, we can witness the effect of music on the masses. Singers and musicians exercise tremendous power over crowds of adoring fans. We no longer need lyrics or a coherent message to convince others. The phenomenon has even invaded religious communities. In reaction to the cerebral frigidity of traditional services, certain denominations have fallen into the other extreme. they spoon-feed and wash down the message by the continuous purring of background music. Believers, transported by the spirit, shout and cry out in a delirious enthusiasm.

Such an approach considers reflection unnecessary and outdated. It only smiles at absolute judgments. This episode in the book of Daniel warns us against a strictly emotional religion. Emotions can be a part of the religious experience only when united with reflection and thought. Adoration must involve the whole being, and to neglect one aspect could lead to bowing before an idol. Likewise, in the plain of Dura, the preachers of Babel do not waste time in dry demonstrations or arguments. Music suffices to trigger adoration, and its adherents live strictly in the present. Several times the passage explicitly stresses the dimension of the present." [Jaccques B. Doukhan, `Secrets of Daniel,' R&H, Hagerstown, MD 2000, p. 48,49.]

Goddess Worship

A large part of goddess worship was the use of the hand drum to call the spirits. Tibetan bells, or Tin-Ssha's, have been used in Buddhist meditation practice for centuries. The two bells, which are rung together, are slightly out of tune with each other. The difference tones between them lie somewhere between four and eight cycles per second. This is exactly in the range of the brain waves created during meditation and helps shift the brain to these frequencies. Tibetan bells are experiencing popularity in western culture at the present time. [Don Campbell, `Music Physician for Times to Come,' Quest Books, Wheaton, IL, 1991, p. 228,229.]

All this leads to the present. Twentieth-century people discovered an ancient usage of difference tones and entertainment and successfully used them to produce an altered state of consciousness.

A man named Monroe first discovered the use of specific frequencies to entrain the brain. He discovered that certain frequencies, which were in the same spectrum as brain waves, could produce entertainment of brain waves. These are too low for the human ear to hear, but by using higher sounds he could produce difference tones. "If the frequencies of two sound sources are applied separately, one to each ear, and Abinaural beat frequency is created. As explained above this is not an actual sound, but only a frequency difference between two actual sounds. The sound is heard within the brain itself, the binaural beat frequency is created by both brain hemispheres working simultaneously. The entertainment or frequency following response did not take place only in the area of the brain responsible for hearing, or only in the left or right hemisphere: the entire brain resonated, the wave forms of both hemispheres becoming identical in frequency. . . ." "thus achieving an altered state of consciousness." [Campbell, op. cit.]

Subliminal Programming

There is a phenomenon in meditation techniques. The music on meditation tapes use two technologies: sound phasing and subliminal programming.

The subliminal use such messages as: "I am one. I am love. I am peace. I am the source of my experience. I am existence . . . consciousness . . . ecstasy . . . peace." These are mantras that have come down through the centuries, which make up a very holistic program of non-dual, I-Consciousness.

Sound phasing is defined as "a vibrate sound, a tone that contains two tones, the top and bottom of the vibration. Phasing is the interval between the tones. The sound we call the interval is heard only in the brain. Your brain creates that sound from the two tones." [Patrick Harbula, `Sounds of Transformation: A talk with Brother Charles,' Meditation, 2(4), 1987, pp. 20-29.]

This of course is difference tones.

Which Spirit Possesses You?

Spirit Possession and the Mind

Spirit Possession and Music

Music Beats

Ritual Songs

Altered State of Consciousness

Vibrations

Music and Babylon

Goddess Worship

Subliminal Programming

Guarding the Mind

Tone waves generators have been built which can insert any difference tones in desired musical carriers. They are called binaural tone generators. They are available for anybody to purchase and are very easy to use. This means that this technique which can open the mind to demon possession is readily available to any that choose to use it. It is to be found in videotapes, DVD's, CD's and all the various recording medias available and used today.

The only protection available to counteract these wiles of Satan is found in Isaiah 26:20. which speaks about the present days,

"Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut the doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast."

"The darkest hour of the church's struggle with the powers of evil is that which immediately precedes the day of her final deliverance. But none who trust in God need fear . . ." {PK, 725}